If I have a long day ahead of me, there’s only one option for breakfast - oatmeal. Oatmeal is quite simply the perfect breakfast for a long day.

With a big bowl of oatmeal, such as my cinnamon raisin oatmeal, I can go all day.

Here’s why it’s so great:

1) Oatmeal is natural and nearly unprocessed.

Oatmeal is healthy and natural for one basic reason - it’s made almost entirely of oats, which are very healthy grains. And even better, the oats are nearly unprocessed. That’s what really sets oatmeal apart from cereals that come out of a box.

(Those cereals are usually just white flour plus some added nutrients to make it appear healthy, when in actuality most nutrients were already stripped out of the ingredients during the processing.)

2) Oatmeal keeps you full.

Oatmeal keeps you full longer than most other foods. Since the oats are whole grain, there’s plenty of fiber, which helps you feel satiated. Oatmeal “sticks to your gut” as they say.

So if breakfast could end up being your only real meal of the day, choose oatmeal!

3) You can get 1,000 high-energy calories in one bowl.

You can get 1,000 calories in one bowl (if the bowl is big enough.) If you need to fuel for, or refuel from, a huge ride, this is the ticket. And a lot the calories are from carbs, so you should get tons of energy and feel great on your next ride.

4) Oatmeal is packed with protein, fiber, and tons of good nutrients.

While there are lots of carbs, oatmeal also contains protein, fiber, and other important nutrients. Among others, one beneficial nutrient is that soluble fiber which may reduce LDL cholesterol (the bad one) without lowering HDL cholesterol (the good one.)

To learn about more nutrients packed in oatmeal, just see the oatmeal page at World’s Healthiest Foods.

5) Oatmeal makes a great conduit for fruit.

Besides oatmeal, fruit is also great for breakfast. And oatmeal just happens to taste great with fruit mixed in!

Flavor your oatmeal with blueberries, strawberries, bananas, or peaches for a great breakfast where you also get potent antioxidants and nutrients from the fruit.

So what are you waiting for, go have some oatmeal!

Photo credit: nate steiner

While foods like Powerbars are great for hard rides and races, it’s hard to get past the desire for “real” food. High-calorie drinks like Accelerade and Hammer Perpetuem might seem great, but liquid food for 6 hours? C’mon.

If there’s ever a good time to eat real food instead of processed bars, it’s on long endurance rides. Kind of like the rides many people do for fun in the crisp Autumn air. (Here on the East Coast, it’s the perfect time to enjoy the fall foliage.)

What we need is real food, with fat and protein along with the carbs. After all, we’re not racing, we’re just going out for a fun ride!

Here are my five favorite foods for Fall:

1) Peanut Butter on Graham Crackers

Time to switch things up a bit. Instead of a regular peanut butter sandwich, I like to take pieces of graham cracker, add natural peanut butter, and make mini sandwiches.

The natural peanut butter is full of healthy fat and protein, and you can find carbohydrate-rich graham crackers that don’t contain high fructose corn syrup or partially hydrogenated oils!

If you’re adventurous, you could also throw in some dark chocolate chips.

Or if you want an even sweeter (albeit unhealthier) treat, use peanut butter cake frosting in place of the natural peanut butter.

2) Beef Jerky

Again we have some fat and protein, but with plenty of salt to keep our electrolyte reserves (and taste buds) happy! Beef jerky is oh so good, especially when you just spent the past six months living off Powerbars!

And contrary to popular belief, jerky really isn’t high in fat. The stick of elk jerky I’m eating has a total of 35 calories and 0.5g fat, while the bag of beef jerky has 100 calories and 1g fat.

(Jerky is extremely high in sodium though, with 560mg in the elk and 430mg in the beef. That’s more than double the sodium found in most sports drinks!)

3) Trail Mix or Granola

Trail mix is a perennial favorite for any kind of adventure, including hiking, biking, and everything in between. Just pick out your favorite kind of trail mix or granola and either carry a small bag of it or just dump it in your jersey pocket. Be careful if anything is prone to melting, though!

One thing I thought was cool (from a convenience standpoint) is the 2oz bag of Bear Naked granola. It’s healthy granola in a package that fits in your jersey pocket! Then you can just dump a little bit from the package straight into your mouth, without stopping.

4) Gummy Bears

Have you been eating energy gels all summer, or maybe even “energy chews” or “sport jelly beans,” but you’ve had enough already? Then go back to old-fashioned treats such as real gummy bears, jelly beans, or (one of my personal favorites) Sunkist fruit gems.

You get tons of sugar, great taste, and it will save you a lot of money over the designer candies made specifically for athletes!

(Really, energy gels and stuff like Jelly Belly Sport Beans are just candy with a tiny bit of sodium and potassium added so they can charge a premium price.)

5) Dried Fruit

Much like gummy bears, dried fruit tastes great and provides you with tons of sugar. However, it gives you a much different taste and also provides important vitamins and minerals.

I recommend dried pineapple or banana chips, but I also enjoy dried papaya and sometimes dried apricots.

This will be a welcome difference in both taste and texture if you’re getting sick of syrupy energy gels!

There you go, five snacks that give you fat, protein, sugar, nutrients, and best of all, the satisfaction of eating real food!

These are great for your epic bike rides, but they also make great snacks for all-day hiking trips and other adventures. So eat up!

*Caution: As with any nutrition changes, test them on shorter, less important rides to make sure they won’t ruin a big ride or race.

There is no better way to celebrate summer than with a big slice of watermelon (especially with the 4th of July right around the corner.) But if you are looking to spice things up, try this watermelon smoothie! It has that great watermelon flavor with a little extra kick.

Plus it is packed with lycopene. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have a frosty glass of watermelon juice than tomato juice!

(Lycopene is a bright red carotenoid pigment and phytochemical found in tomatoes and other red fruits, such as watermelon - and it’s one of the most potent antioxidants out there!)

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 2 cups Chopped Seedless Watermelon
• 1 cup Crushed Ice
• 1 tsp Honey
• 1 tsp Lemon Juice
• 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
• Watermelon wedge (for garnish)

Step 1: Prepare.

First, chop watermelon into chunks. Second, crush some ice. (Or, what I prefer to do is freeze the watermelon chunks. You can skip the ice in this case.)

Removing the seeds isn’t a bad idea, either, because even the little white ones can be annoying in a smooth drink like this.

Step 2: Blend.

Blend the watermelon and ice into a thick drink.

Step 3: Add extra flavor.

Add in the honey, lemon juice, and black pepper. Make sure the pepper is finely ground or it will sink to the bottom.

(Don’t be concerned about the black pepper. It actually adds a nice kick, but you don’t really taste the pepper itself.)

Step 4: Blend.

Now blend it all together.

Step 5: Garnish.

Pour the finished drink into a glass.

Slide a watermelon wedge on the side of the glass to garnish. (Just like you’d do with a lemon wedge.)

Then serve!

Are you looking for where you can buy FRS energy drinks? These days you can buy FRS online or in a few select retail locations.

The most popular route is the free trial offer where you can get a 14-day free trial of FRS energy drinks just for paying a small shipping charge. You can get that online at www.healthyenergy.com.

But I can understand if you don’t want to order online. You may prefer to just go to your local store and pay in cash.

If that is how you prefer to buy, then take a look in the following retail stores:

• Albertsons
• Am/Pm
• Smart & Final
• Target Superstores
• GNC
• Save Mart
• Food Max

Those retailers should stock some FRS products. So there you go, that’s where you can buy FRS healthy energy drinks.

P.S. Here are my FRS reviews if you need to know more:

• FRS Liquid Concentrate
• FRS Powder
• FRS Cans
• FRS Health Chews

Looking for a new kick to spice up your morning routine? You might want to try the new Peach Mango liquid concentrate from FRS.

If you remember, I really loved the Orange liquid concentrate (in my liquid concentrate review) and I thought the Peach Mango flavor (formerly available only in FRS cans) was pretty good, too.

So, while I’m not a fan of sucralose (or any other artificial sweetener,) if you are, the latest Peach Mango low calorie liquid concentrate could be your thing.

If it wasn’t for the sucralose, I would have ordered some already. It’s pretty tempting, because FRS issued a coupon for 25% off your first purchase of Peach Mango concentrate. Yep, 25% off.

I’m really really hoping for an all natural wild berry concentrate, so I’m holding out for that. I’d be happy with any of their flavors in the “all natural” liquid concentrate formula, though.

Oh, about that coupon. How do I get these coupons?

It’s because I’m a current FRS customer. If you are a current FRS customer, they’ll email you coupons for the new flavors as soon as they launch.

The best way to get started is to get your free trial and then you’ll be a customer and can get these discounts. (Free stuff to start with and then discounts on future purchases, sounds good to me.)